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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

“Fruit” Snacks & Drinks: the Real Truth

If there was any good to come from having gestational diabetes during my first pregnancy, it was that I became more aware of sugar content in foods. I check nutrition labels religiously to this day and sometimes get discouraged because there is sugar or high fructose corn syrup (and usually lots of it) in, well.....everything. Reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan only ramped up my obsession with food labels.

Fruit snacks and drinks may contain Vitamin C, but a closer look at the nutrition labels suggests these are some of the least healthy foods kids can eat. In many varieties, the first few ingredients are sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or both. One fruit drink serving generally contains between 15-20 grams of sugar. A single serving of a fruit snack may contain 11 or more grams. The American Heart Association recommends that children consume no more than 12 grams of sugar per day.

Many of these snacks and drinks also contain artificial colorings/flavorings or preservatives, such as Red 40 and sulfiting agents. Researchers don’t fully understand if or how these chemical ingredients affect the human body. Some fruit snacks contain gelatin, which is made from collagen. Collagen comes from the boiling of animal hides and bones.

Parents who would like to know more about what is in the food they eat can check out LabelWatch.com to find the most common ingredients in various food products, from baby food to canned soups.

1 comment:

It's hard to find foods without high fructose corn syrup. I always look at the labels before I buy. If there's fructose on it I will surely not buy those products. Good thing you there are lot's of us who knows what to do. Let's continue to share this kind of articles to help other people knows the truth about fructose.